1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that includes a display unit capable of displaying an operation screen provided by a server.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) which is connected to a server on a network and displays on a display unit therein an operation screen provided by the server is conventionally known. For example, there is a system in which a web server included in the information processing apparatus displays the operation screen acquired from a web server on the network.
In such a case, the web browser in the information processing apparatus requests the web server to provide the operation screen. A web application in the web server then responds to the request received from the information processing apparatus by transmitting a hypertext markup language (HTML) file for the web browser to display the operation screen. The web browser in the information processing apparatus analyzes the received HTML file and displays the operation screen based on the description of the HTML file.
Further, if a user inputs an instruction via the operation screen displayed on the web browser, the web browser notifies the web server of the input instruction. The web application on the web server that receives the notification then executes a process according to the input instruction.
Recent multifunction peripherals (MFP) which include a scanner and a printer also include the above described web browser. The MFP thus displays on the web browser the operation screen provided by the web server based on the above described procedure and receives various instructions from the user.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-127503 discusses a technique in which the web server provides the operation screen to which the user inputs instructions for using various functions included in the MFP. In other words, a user of the MFP inputs an instruction to the MFP via the operation screen displayed on the web browser. The web browser of the MFP then notifies the web server of the input instruction.
Upon receiving such a notification, the web server requests the MFP to perform various processes according to the content of the instruction input by the user. The MFP which receives such a request thus performs the requested process. As a result, it becomes unnecessary to store in the MFP all pieces of operation screen information for operating the MFP. Further, the content of the operation screen can be easily changed on the web server.
The technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-127503 once notifies the server of the instruction input via the operation screen displayed on the display unit in the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus then performs various processes according to the request that is returned from the server. However, in such a case, problems are generated as described below.
More specifically, the user may operate on the information processing apparatus and switch the operation screen displayed on the display unit to another operation screen after the information processing apparatus notifies the server of the instruction input via the operation screen and is then requested by the server to execute the process. For example, after the information processing apparatus notifies the web server of the instruction input via the operation screen displayed on the web browser, the user may close the web browser and then switch to another operation screen provided by the application in the information processing apparatus. Further, the user may newly display an operation screen provided by the application in the information processing apparatus in front of the web browser while the web browser continues to be activated.
In the above described cases, if the process requested by the server requires a user operation to be performed after the process is executed, the user operation is not performed even when the process is executed. Execution of the process may thus become useless. For example, in one case it is assumed that a process requested by the server is to read a document, and it is necessary for the user to preview and confirm image data acquired by executing the process. In such a case, the user cannot preview and confirm the image data if the web browser is closed. As a result, the processes of previewing and confirming the image data and thereafter are not performed, so that the reading process becomes useless.
Further, for example, it is assumed that when a process requested by the server is executed, the information processing apparatus displays a screen indicating that the “process is being executed” based on screen information stored therein. In such a case, when the user is operating on the new operation screen, the screen may be switched (or displayed by overwriting on the frontmost screen) to the screen indicating that the “process is being executed” simultaneously as the process which is requested in delay from the server is started. The user operation thus becomes interrupted.